M5 vs Hx One

[EOengineer]

Given all the noise issues with Hx One, how do you all feel the M5 holds up as a single fx sized unit that can cover the rarely used and/or oddball effects?

I’m migrating away from Helix but have a reliance on particle verb and some other legacy effects which makes this a particularly (sorry) interesting option, especially given the prices on these.

 

[spawnofthesith]

I've had a couple M5s great units. biggest quality issue I've heard of is the foot switches

I personally didn't have any noise issues with my HX one but I know a lot of people have.

The m5 does take up a bit of space, IIRC dimensions are similar to a stomp

I could be crazy, but I swear the legacy FX sounded a bit better on a One than an M5, and even jumping from there I swear the legacy FX sound better on the stomp than they did on the One. Idk if thats all in my head or if improved processing power makes differences there

 

[EOengineer]

I've had a couple M5s great units. biggest quality issue I've heard of is the foot switches

I personally didn't have any noise issues with my HX one but I know a lot of people have.

The m5 does take up a bit of space, IIRC dimensions are similar to a stomp

I could be crazy, but I swear the legacy FX sounded a bit better on a One than an M5, and even jumping from there I swear the legacy FX sound better on the stomp than they did on the One. Idk if thats all in my head or if improved processing power makes differences there

Yeah the noise is a concern because I already own an HXFX that has the dreaded static interaction with some of my gear. I clearly am in an environment that promotes the issue so I’m playing it safe.

If I had to bank on why the m5 and Hx One legacy stuff might not sound as good, I’d imagine it has more to do with conversion quality and less to do with processing power but who knows.

 

[iaresee]

I dumped my HX One, kept my M5. M5 is dead quiet. HX One was incredibly noisy and susceptible to EMF.

HX One would have been great. Perfect size and weight. But here we are: plastic enclosures are a bad, bad idea.

 

[dk_ace]

I’ve heard people say that their m series was dead quiet, and I’ve heard of people sending them off to be modded to quiet them down.

I suspect it might be rig-dependent.

D

 

[gearJunkie]

HX One was incredibly noisy and susceptible to EMF.

I have never considered EMF interference as the source of noise in my HX One. That may explain the intermittent noise behavior I experienced before properly mounting and patching it into my main board.

I use it in 4CM with an isolation xformer for the second instance into the amps fx loop. I haven't noticed any noise issues in this configuration, but I also have it routed through my pedal loop switcher, so it's only in my signal path when it's activated.

All of that said, I probably would not buy it again.

 

[EOengineer]

The latest Zoom multi pedals have lastest conversion and sound excellent. In the cheap all in one pedal options I would be looking at Zoom. They also cost half of an HX one.


This one has the particle verb and space hole reverbs.

Zoom MS-70CDR+ MultiStomp Chorus/Delay/Reverb Pedal

Multi-effects Pedal with 149 Mono and Stereo Effects, Patch Storage, and USB-C MIDI

www.sweetwater.com

Man, I get it. Times change. I just have such a hard time taking a zoom device seriously. Thanks for the heads up, I will look into it.

 

[iaresee]

I have never considered EMF interference as the source of noise in my HX One. That may explain the intermittent noise behavior I experienced before properly mounting and patching it into my main board.

I use it in 4CM with an isolation xformer for the second instance into the amps fx loop. I haven't noticed any noise issues in this configuration, but I also have it routed through my pedal loop switcher, so it's only in my signal path when it's activated.

All of that said, I probably would not buy it again.

Yea. I had to enable it judiciously or otherwise keep it well out my signal path n my FM9. I pity anyone trying to use it for the drive models. I was only using a few special effects from it.

 

[gearJunkie]

pity anyone trying to use it for the drive models. I was only using a few special effects from it.

Exactly. I only use it for pitch, modulation, and delays.

 

[EOengineer]

Yea. I had to enable it judiciously or otherwise keep it well out my signal path n my FM9. I pity anyone trying to use it for the drive models. I was only using a few special effects from it.

Exactly. I only use it for pitch, modulation, and delays.

Yeah this is basically it for me - just using it for time based stuff. Primarily some of their weird verbs, synth/filter stuff, probably the tuner too.

 

[KingsXJJ]

So the HX One is noisy and doesn’t play well on a board? If so, what a shame!

 

[spawnofthesith]

So the HX One is noisy and doesn’t play well on a board? If so, what a shame!

Maybe I got mine as soon as they started shipping and used it frequently/aggressively home/stage/etc without any noise issues for 9-10 months before jumping up to a stomp

But I have seen enough reports of noise issues that I won’t completely discount them


Possibly should add that after the 9 month mark I -did- encounter an issue with mine but it wasn’t noise related at all, it was an issue with the true bypass relays. Had it quickly replaced under warranty, but I wanted more flexibility so sold the replacement and bought a stomp



Ironically, my rigs were always actually -quieter- with the One than without thanks to the input gating. YMMV, proceed with caution. So on and so forth

 

[gonzoknife]

My HX One noise issue was related to placing it after distortion pedals or with them in the loop. White noise hell. If I remember correctly, even if the distortion pedal was off. I doubt it was the enclosure. It's just bad design and/or parts. It's a shame because it would have been such a great problem solver.

No idea if they ever resolved it. I sent mine back fast.

 

[TubeStack]

Maybe I got mine as soon as they started shipping and used it frequently/aggressively home/stage/etc without any noise issues for 9-10 months before jumping up to a stomp

But I have seen enough reports of noise issues that I won’t completely discount them


Possibly should add that after the 9 month mark I -did- encounter an issue with mine but it wasn’t noise related at all, it was an issue with the true bypass relays. Had it quickly replaced under warranty, but I wanted more flexibility so sold the replacement and bought a stomp



Ironically, my rigs were always actually -quieter- with the One than without thanks to the input gating. YMMV, proceed with caution. So on and so forth

Yeah, my HX One has been fine, too. No noise issues at all.

 

[EOengineer]

So the HX One is noisy and doesn’t play well on a board? If so, what a shame!

My HX One noise issue was related to placing it after distortion pedals or with them in the loop. White noise hell. If I remember correctly, even if the distortion pedal was off. I doubt it was the enclosure. It's just bad design and/or parts. It's a shame because it would have been such a great problem solver.

No idea if they ever resolved it. I sent mine back fast.

Yup. I encountered full spectrum static with very random pedals in both loops of my HXFX. The videos and reports I’ve seen with HX1 seem identical.

It’s hard to isolate or reason about. Sometimes it seems to vary between units, and other times it’s a weird interaction with a specific amp or another effect.

L6 really blew it. The m series stuff is legendary. The HX1 should have been a layup and they totally biffed it.

Honestly I hope they scrap it and hand the torch to @Digital Igloo .

Must have handed the project to the CEO’s son or something.